2018 FINAL : First CW title for ElShorbagy

World No.1 Mohamed ElShorbagy became the first ever Egyptian winner of the prestigious Canary Wharf Classic after he defeated compatriot Tarek Momen in a thrilling five-game contest inside London’s stunning East Wintergarden to bring an end to the 15th edition of the tournament.

World Champion ElShorbagy, who returned to the summit of the World Rankings earlier this month, has been in stunning form this season and was appearing in his eighth PSA World Tour final of the season, while his meeting with Momen was a repeat of November’s Qatar Classic, which also went ElShorbagy’s way.

A captivating contest saw some incredible rallies enrapture a sell-out crowd, with ElShorbagy pulling ahead to a 2-1 lead, only to see a gutsy fight back from Momen send the match into a decider.

But a determined ElShorbagy ran away with things in the fifth game as he rattled off a succession of points to complete an 11-8, 7-11, 12-10, 9-11, 11-3 victory to draw a captivating 86-minute battle to a close.

27-year-old ElShorbagy, who has lost just one of his last 31 matches, has now won an incredible seven PSA World Tour titles from nine tournaments this season, while his triumph in East Wintergarden was the 32nd PSA title of his career – a total which puts him joint 11th on the list of all-time male PSA World Tour title winners.

“This is the best ever match we’ve played against each other and what a venue to play that kind of battle in,” said ElShorbagy.

“The crowd have been supporting us all week, they come to support this event every year, so it’s amazing to play such a high quality match like this with Tarek and the crowd made it more exciting for both of us.

“I’m really happy to win this for the first time, I’ve never won this title before and it’s a title that has had a lot of great names win it in the past. I’m really glad to put my name on that trophy.”

Momen said:

“The only thing that’s bothering me is that I’ve been in this position many times. I wish I could go on this court once holding the trophy, but for me to get to this stage I have to play against so many great players, so it’s hard to get the successive wins.

“But I’m getting there, I’m learning every tournament and Mohamed has been amazing this season. He’s an unbelievable fighter and all credit to him, he played really well.”